Key to Her Heart re:Mind
by The Blue Time Ranger
Summary: With the Dark Mother Meter put to rest, it seems like things are finally calming down in Heatherfield. However, on the eve of W.I.T.C.H.'s graduation from Sheffield, a strange anomaly pulls Nick and his fellow keyblade wielders into another dimension, one where Nerissa is on the rampage, alongside... Organization XIII! "Man, why can't the universe just give us a break for once!"


_Well, we're "Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions" now. Which means new abilities, new powers, and hopefully being able to relax for a while._

_The one problem with that?_

_When we returned to Heatherfield after our briefing in Candracar, we came back to a city covered in darkness, and not the night-time sky kind of darkness._

_More like the oppressive, unnatural darkness that Phobos had plagued Meridian with for so long. Well, until recently, that is._

"Holy crap, what _happened_ here?!" Irma exclaimed. "Did we walk into one of those old-school black and white movies that Chris doesn't seem to want to shut up about lately?"

"I almost thought Phobos broke out of the Tower of Mist and started rampaging again," Cornelia admitted. "But hey, if he's behind it, then we can just have Elyon stomp him again."

Nick looked down to his right hand, which was now holding a peculiar, key-shaped weapon, with a shaft displaying two hearts, a handle bearing two angel wings, teeth fashioned in the shape of the Japanese kanji for "light", and a star-shaped token connected to the handle by a yarn-like keychain.

Nick simply shook his head, his somber expression catching everyone off guard.

"I almost wish it _was_ Phobos," Nick quipped. "No... if this darkness is what I think it is, girls, then we're in some big, _big time_ trouble. This is clearly worse than Phobos could _ever_ be."

"You sure about that, Nick?" Hay Lin asked. "Not that we don't believe our buddy, but what could _honestly_ be more of a hassle than the freak we've been fighting for so long?"

Nick looked up to the darkened sky as a light rain began to fall, black thunderbolts arcing through the sky. Nick breathed a heavy sigh before telling them.

"...the Dark Keyblade."

* * *

(They can take your world. They can take your heart. Cut you loose from all you know. But if it's your fate... then every step forward will always be a step closer to home.)

**The Blue Time Ranger** is proud to present:  
_W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart re:Mind  
_**Story Created:** January 1st, 2020  
**Story Rated:** T for Teen

**The Dramatis Personnae (cast, if you will)  
**_Bryce Papenbrook_ as **Nick Kelly  
**_Eden Riegel _as **Marie Kelly  
**_Cassandra Lee Morris _as **Meiling Li  
**_Cherami Leigh_ as **Haruka Rose  
**_Kelly Stables_ as **Will Vandom  
**_Candi Milo_ as **Irma Lair  
**_Kali Troy _as **Taranee Cook  
**_Christel Khalil_ as **Cornelia Hale  
**_Liza del Mundo_ as **Hay Lin  
**_Serena Berman_ as **Queen Elyon Portrait  
**_Kath Soucie_ as **Nerissa**

**Story Summary:** With the Dark Mother Meter put to rest, it seems like things are finally calming down in Heatherfield. However, on the eve of W.I.T.C.H.'s graduation from Sheffield, a strange anomaly pulls Nick and his fellow keyblade wielders into another dimension, one where Nerissa is on the rampage, alongside... Organization XIII?! Nick and his friends will have to uncover the mysteries of this new dimension if they want to have any hope of finding their way home, alongside defeating Nerissa and the Organization. "Man, why can't the universe just give us a break for once in our lives?!"

**Author's Notes:** Okay, this one wasn't really in the cards when I started Key to Her Heart III, but when Kingdom Hearts III re:Mind was announced, I kept an idea on the backburner in case re:Mind didn't give me enough to adapt into one last story, or I didn't feel it would work for this. This story here is _essentially_ a remake of my very first W.I.T.C.H./Kingdom Hearts story, "K is for Keyblade" from the far-off year of 2006, which... two tons of ugh, I am _really_ not proud of some of the crap I put into that story. In fact, as I'm sure I've said, the sheer level of "UGH WHY DID I WRITE SOME OF THIS CRAPOLA" in those old stories is why this new Key to Her Heart trilogy was even made, to basically start over.

**Theme Song Notes: **Since I can't post the opening and ending sequences anymore so as to not get my stuff axed, the opening theme for this story is "Polaris" by Blue Encount (the first opening theme to season four of My Hero Academia) and the ending theme is "unlasting" by LiSA (the first ending theme to Sword Art Online Alicization: War of Underworld).

**And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer:** I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing with no intent of copyright infringement, only for the entertainment of my readers. The same goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?

* * *

Episode 1: Neverending Struggle

"Wait, pardon me asking, but what's a 'keyblade'?" Will asked.

"Remember, Will?" Nick answered, materializing his weapon, the Oathkeeper, into his hands. "I helped the Oracle bring down the Veil with this?"

"Wait, from what you're saying, it sounds like there's more than one keyblade out there," Taranee stated.

"Well, to be fair, anyone who's worthy _is_ capable of wielding a keyblade of their own, but I really don't think we have time to stand here and quibble about semantics," Nick proclaimed. "If the Dark Keyblade is responsible for all of this, we need to find and stop whoever's wielding it."

"Um... I hope I don't sound rude, Nick, but are you _sure _that this 'Dark Keyblade' is the cause of all of this?" Cornelia asked. "Because it sounds like you've dealt with this thing before."

Nick hung his head, realizing that there was no way out of it now.

"Yes, Cornelia, I've dealt with the Dark Keyblade before," Nick answered. "I never told any of you this, but... I had a friend a couple years ago. Her name was Cassidy, and she was... well, she was a wonderful friend. She was nice, super-sweet, and fiercely independent, not letting anyone tell her what to do."

Nick sighed as the memories came rushing back to him, no matter how much he preferred they stay buried. "One day in eighth grade, our science class was taking a field trip to the nearby mountains, and Cassidy stumbled upon this weird-looking cave. She actually offered to go in and check it out. But... when she came out..."

Irma gasped when she put the pieces together. "She was wielding the Dark Keyblade, right?" Irma asked.

"Precisely," Nick answered. "Apparently, it had latched onto her when she explored the cave, and... she attacked me, like she wasn't herself anymore. The Cassidy I remember would have never done something like that. She would have cut me in half if I hadn't gotten my own keyblade at that precise moment."

"Wow, it reacted to save you?" Hay Lin quipped. "That seems pretty convenient."

"Maybe my own potential awakened when she attacked me," Nick responded. "Either way, I fought her off for as long as I could, but when I couldn't think of any way to break the Dark Keyblade's hold over her..."

No one spoke, having realized what Nick had been forced to do.

"...I had to take her out," Nick sighed. "All that's left of her... is this."

Nick gestured to the crystal pendant he was wearing around his neck.

"I... I still miss her," Nick stated, trying his best not to cry. Irma was the first to offer some comfort, stepping closer so she could place her hands on Nick's shoulders and squeeze gently.

"You really loved her, didn't you?" Irma asked.

"...yeah. Yeah, I did," Nick admitted. "Honestly, she was my first crush, and I just feel so awful that it had to end the way it did. But we've got a bigger problem to deal with. If the Dark Keyblade's being wielded by someone again, it's only a matter of time before history repeats itself."

"Well, in that case, I think we should hightail it back to Candracar and see if the Oracle knows anything about this," Will stated, pulling the Heart of Candracar out from her pocket. _"Guardians, unite!"_

"_Quintessence!"_ Will exclaimed.

"_Water!"_ Irma shouted.

"_Fire!"_ Taranee continued.

"_Earth!"_ Cornelia added.

"_Air!"_ Hay Lin exclaimed.

"_Thunder!"_ Nick finished.

After a large flash of light, all six of them had transformed into their Guardian attires, complete with wings.

Will raised the Heart and used its power to open a pulsing blue portal that led back to Candracar, specifically the Congregation Hall where the Oracle stood.

"Back so soon, my Guardians?" the Oracle of Candracar asked. "Is there something troubling you?"

"I wish we could say this was just a personal house call, Your Highness," Will explained. "But when we got back to Heatherfield, it was covered with darkness, and not the normal night-sky kind of darkness."

"Yeah, it's _eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeevil_," Irma teased.

"I'll just cut to the chase, since time is probably of the essence," Nick quipped, summoning Oathkeeper. "Do the words 'Dark Keyblade' mean anything to you?"

Complete silence reigned in the Congregation Hall for a few seconds, which was _very_ unusual.

"The Dark Keyblade?" Himerish repeated. "Are you serious, Guardians?"

"If only it was a joke," Nick responded. "Is there anything you can tell us that would help us find whoever's wielding it now?"

"I may know who is wielding it," Himerish proclaimed. "But I will have to explain some things first. As you might know, you are not the first team of Guardians of the Veil that we have appointed to protect the world. Forty years ago, there was another group of Guardians. Kadma of the Earth, Halinor of the Fire, Yan Lin of the Air, Cassidy of the Water, and Nerissa of the Heart."

Naturally, Nick did a double-take when Himerish mentioned his old friend. "W-wait, wait, did you say _Cassidy_?" Nick gasped. "But... I'm confused, Your Highness. Cassidy _can't_ be older than me. She was with me a few years ago, and she was the same age as me!"

"Hmmmm... it seems like her spirit may have been revived," Himerish answered. "And yes, Nick, that does tie into our predicament. This group of Guardians was much like you are, until Nerissa, the Keeper of the Heart, was corrupted by the promise of unbound power that the Heart of Candracar offered. We feared the worst, but after one outburst too many, we entrusted the Heart to Cassidy. If only we could have foreseen what was to come..."

"I'm going to guess that Nerissa didn't take it well and went crazy like my little brother on a sugar bender?" Irma asked.

"Nerissa, now fully immersed in darkness, turned on her fellow Guardians and conjured up a wicked weapon with her new dark powers," Himerish explained.

"And that weapon was the Dark Keyblade, I bet," Cornelia answered.

"Desperate to regain the power she had lost, Nerissa confronted Cassidy, and in the ensuing argument..." Himerish stated, only to stop mid-sentence before resuming, knowing that Nick wouldn't like this next part. "...Nerissa killed Cassidy."

Nick gasped in shock. "Wait, she died, came back to life, and then died _AGAIN_ because of me?!"

"Do not blame yourself for this, Nick," Himerish interrupted. "None of this was your fault. After the shock of her actions wore off, Nerissa lost all sense of reason and declared war on Candracar. The fierce battle only ended when I imprisoned her within the depths of Mount Thanos."

"What do you think broke her seal?" Taranee asked.

"That I do not know," Himerish replied. "What I do know is that Nerissa no doubt desires to destroy Candracar, and her rage has not abated since her imprisonment. You will need new powers in order to stand a chance against Nerissa and whatever forces she intends to bring against us."

Himerish raised his hands, light surrounding them as he channeled his magic. When he opened his hands, that same light streaked through the air and surrounded the Guardians' hands, the light eventually forming into keyblades, one for each of the girls.

Will's keyblade, Innocent Sign, had a white handle and was surrounded by a smooth, circular, dark indigo guard. The top of the guard was decorated by three magenta diamonds, one at the base of the blade, and two on either side. The shaft of the blade was rather short and dark indigo in color. The head and teeth of the blade were comprised by a dark indigo cross with a magenta diamond set in three of its four arms, leaving the arm opposite the "teeth" bare. A white ring connected all four arms of the cross, and the keychain token was the symbol of Quintessence.

Irma's keyblade, Abyssal Tide, had a black handle with a black spike in its pommel. The left half of the guard was light blue with a small, black section near its base, and connected to both ends of the handle, while the right half was black, curved outward slightly, and didn't connect to the bottom of the handle. Its shaft was light blue on its left half and regular blue on its right half, the head of its blade was blue and formed a large hook that curves to the left, and its teeth were three curved spikes lining the outer edge of the hook. The keychain token was the symbol of Water.

Taranee's keyblade, Maverick Flare, had a simple grey rod as its handle, a yellow-range blade that slowly darkened to red near the tip, and a blade that fanned out near the tip, which was slanted and flat at the top. The keyblade's teeth were comprised of several upward-slanting spikes which flared out at the tip to resemble bursts of fire, spikes shaped like those of an unknown sigil, all of which slanted upward slightly. The guard was black and didn't connect to the base of the blade, and sported two black spikes on either side. The keychain token was the symbol of Fire.

Cornelia's keyblade, Rockbreaker, had an off-white handle and a wide, black pommel, a black guard with thin orange edges lined by rectangular spikes that didn't connect to the bottom of the handle, a short and conical off-white shaft, and a black head with thin oranges edges and teeth. The teeth were quite a bit larger than those of most keyblades, reaching halfway down the shaft. The outer edge of the teeth was lined by rectangular spikes of varying lengths, with a small, black protrusion on the opposite side of the weapon to the teeth. The keychain token was the symbol of Earth.

Hay Lin's keyblade, Wind Maker, had a black handle with an elegant and curved light blue guard, the two halves of the guard not connecting to the top of the handle, and a blue shaft with slightly concave edges. The head and teeth were comprised of a large, circular hook that nearly formed a complete circle, the hook divided into alternating black and blue segments and its outer edge lined by spikes. The keychain token was the symbol of Air.

"From the depths of your souls, I have drawn out the power of your heart and forged it into keyblades," Himerish proclaimed. "Stand true, my Guardians of the Infinite Dimensions."

Just then, a loud explosion resounded, shaking the foundations of the Congregation Hall.

"What the heck was _that_?!" Cornelia shouted.

"Sounds like we've got trouble," Nick proclaimed, summoning the Oathkeeper.

"Well, then let's get over there and do what we came here to do," Will stated.

The six Guardians turned back the way they came and charged down the hallway out into the Infinite Chambers, where a group of five rather misplaced figures could be seen marching forward.

At the forefront of the strange group was the very woman that Himerish had just warned them of, Nerissa. She was a young woman wearing a long pink dress, with long and flowing black hair, bright yellow eyes, and an elaborate staff in one hand. Clutched tightly in her other hand was a simple-looking keyblade with a blood-red guard and a wicked blade with teeth that formed the negative space of a heart.

Nick naturally tensed up at the sight of the keyblade that had corrupted Cassidy.

"Well, well, I finally get to meet the _new_ Guardians of the Veil," Nerissa cackled. "And I must say... I'm not impressed."

"Oh, of _course_ you'd say that," Irma groaned.

"You know something, Nerissa?" Nick proclaimed. "We may have never met until today, but... I've actually got a bone to pick with you."

"Oh? How so?" Nerissa asked, genuinely curious.

"Well, for starters, that weapon you're carrying, ended the life of my best friend," Nick growled. "Cassidy was a wonderful friend, and your wretched creation took her from me!"

"C-Cassidy?" Nerissa gasped.

"Yeah, _Cassidy_. Remember her?" Nick stated, aiming Oathkeeper for Nerissa. "Your former partner, a fellow Guardian, the _woman you killed_ just because you couldn't stand being without your limitless power?! Why did you just straight-up _murder_ her?! Did Cassidy mean _nothing _to you?!"

"You have _no goddamn idea_ what she meant to me!" Nerissa screamed, leveling the Dark Keyblade into a fighting stance. "I guess I'll have to show you, then."

As Nick and Nerissa lunged towards each other, a bright flash of light stopped both parties in their tracks.

A large column of warbling blue light descended from the heavens and struck the ground, and both groups noticed something emerging from the point on the floor where the beam was falling.

"Ugh, my head," Meiling groaned as she shook her head to clear the mental cobwebs left over from their strange trip. "I'm seriously never going to get used to this kind of travel."

"I would probably be more concerned with whatever that strange light was," Haruka quipped as she slowly stood up. "Because I don't think we're in Heatherfield anymore."

"Wait, we're in Candracar?" Marie asked. "I thought everything was fine in Candracar, especially after... well, _that_."

"Um... you're all seeing this, right?" Other Nick asked. "I'm not going crazy, am I?"

"If you're crazy, then we're crazy, too, because I'm _definitely_ seeing two of you, Nick," Irma responded.

"Okay, I am officially tripped out," Meiling stated, glancing towards the slightly younger version of her friend. "Because it's just like she said. I'm seeing _two_ of you, Nick."

"Hold on, is that even possible?" Nick asked, turning around to see if anything else about this other Candracar looked familiar...

...only to see Nerissa standing there, a look of honest confusion on her face.

"YOU!" Nick shouted, summoning the Kingdom Key into his hands. "Aren't you supposed to be dead and _gone_?!"

"And so the keyblade wielders just keep sprouting like an overgrown garden of weeds," Nerissa laughed, bringing the Dark Keyblade into a fighting stance. "Let's see what _you_ can do, then."

Nick decided not to waste any more time and charged straight for Nerissa while Nerissa's minions, the Knights of Vengeance, moved to attack the Guardians.

"Okay, bad guys attacking us all at once, what do we do here?!" Hay Lin shouted, raising Wind Maker to defend herself from Shagon the Hate, only for Meiling to catch Shagon in an Aeroga tornado that spun him around before flinging him bodily into the nearby wall.

"You let the professionals handle things," Meiling proclaimed. "We'll _try_ and explain ourselves once we've got some free time."

Meanwhile, Haruka was locked in a duel with Ember the Pain, who was rapidly slicing her trident through the air, only for Haruka to deftly parry each swing with a slash from Rumbling Rose.

"You honestly think you can defy the trident of Ember the Pain?!" Ember shouted. "Upstart little teenager, you oughta..."

Haruka spun around Ember before slashing her across the back, then slamming Rumbling Rose into the ground, creating an explosion of rock spikes underneath Ember that floored her instantly.

"How about you shut your yap and don't tell me what to do?" Haruka shot back.

Marie faced down Tridart the Despair, not liking the way he was gazing at her.

"All right, creepo, either you back up and stop giving me googly eyes or HOLY..." Marie stated, only to deftly dodge as Tridart slammed his double-edged axe into the ground where she'd been a mere second ago.

"Okay, hard way it is," Marie proclaimed, drawing her free hand back before thrusting it forward to unleash a Dark Firaga that screamed through the air and struck Tridart in the chest, exploding violently and sending him flying backwards.

"Oh, yeah! Still got the moves!" Marie giggled.

"This is weird-ing me out," Cornelia stated. "Did that girl just use dark powers?"

"We all saw it, too," Other Nick replied. "But hey, as long as she's on our side, that's good enough for me."

While all this was happening, the last Knight, Khor the Destroyer, ambled around before lunging for the prone Guardians, only to be stopped when a bolt of lightning fell from the sky and crashed into his back.

"Still more backup they summon," Nerissa laughed, swinging the Dark Keyblade to put some distance between herself and Nick.

Nick snuck a glance behind him only to see three very familiar figures standing there, their weapons at the ready.

"I think we've reached our weird limit for today," Meiling quipped. "Because I swear I'm seeing Sora, Donald and Goofy again."

Indeed, it _was_ Sora, Donald and Goofy, though Sora was wearing an outfit very similar to the one Nick had worn on his second adventure.

"I think you Heartless need to learn a lesson," Sora proclaimed. "No one messes with _any_ world while _we're_ around!"

Shagon roared and charged in to attack Sora, only for him to deflect each strike from Shagon's fists rather handily. Sora then responded with a point-blank Thunder spell to Shagon's face, causing Shagon to reel back, howling in obvious agony. Donald contributed his own Thunder spell while Goofy threw his shield through the air like a boomerang to strike Shagon in the head and keep him in place.

"I'm surprised you have so many friends that are keyblade wielders, boy," Nerissa stated.

"To be honest, I still have no clue why we're even _here_, but I'll save those thoughts for after I _kick your ass_," Nick proclaimed, aiming the Kingdom Key for Nerissa.

"Oh? And what can you do that these other rookies can't?" Nerissa taunted.

Nick answered by switching his keyblade to Twinkle Rocket and concentrating, said keyblade glowing brightly.

"There's your _second_ mistake," Nick replied as Nerissa charged him. "Assuming I'm some mere 'rookie' just because I resemble the other me over there. _Formchange: Star Hammer!_"

Nick spun Twinkle Rocket around, stopping Nerissa in her tracks, before tossing it into the air, where the keyblade transformed into a large hammer with a handle resembling an extremely elongated Twinkle Stick, and an anvil resembling Lala's spaceship. Nick smashed the hammer into the ground three times before hefting it on his shoulders.

"I'll give you five seconds to retract that dumb statement," Nick challenged, only for Nerissa to leap into the air. "Yeah, didn't think so."

As Nerissa got close, Nick smashed Star Hammer into the ground, the impact unleashing a large shockwave that sent Nerissa tumbling back.

"Got you!" Nick exclaimed. _"Formchange: Galaxy Claws!"_

Star Hammer shimmered before dissolving into particles of light, which eventually reformed around Nick's hands and materialized into wrist-mounted claws that resembled the claws from Lala's spaceship.

"I once again ask, you're all seeing this, right?" Other Nick gasped. "Because I'm pretty sure we _can't_ do the things that other me is doing with keyblades."

"Hey, we just got ours, right?" Taranee stated. "Maybe we'll be able to do that once we've had enough training."

Contrary to Star Hammer's slow but powerful hammer swings, Galaxy Claws allowed Nick to attack extremely rapidly with spinning claw strikes and jabs that covered a wide range around him. Nerissa couldn't do much but stand her ground as Nick continued to attack her, until Irma moved to behind Nerissa and blasted her in the back with a large water bubble, causing Nerissa to keel over.

This gave Nick the leeway to perform his finisher, where small nebulas surrounded his claws and he thrust them forward, creating an explosion of energy that resembled a galaxy. This was enough to finally bring Nerissa to his knees.

"Now are you going to take the hint and _beat it_ before I get even nastier?" Nick proclaimed. "Even though I'm pretty sure you're not the Nerissa I remember, you _don't_ want to know what I did to the other one."

"Very well," Nerissa conceded, warping away to the Knights of Vengeance. "I suppose we will have to pick this up at a later date."

Before anyone else could move in and attack, Nerissa raised the Dark Keyblade and surrounded herself and the Knights with a column of darkness. When it dissipated, they had all vanished.

"Of course you would, _coward_!" Irma shouted.

"Well, that was... a thing," Meiling stated, walking up to rejoin her friends. "Does _anyone_ know where the heck we are?"

"The last thing I remember is getting ready for the graduation ceremony at Sheffield," Haruka answered. "We were just helping the Guardians with those cursed tassel caps, when suddenly the whole school was engulfed in a really bright light."

"Yeah, it felt like we were being sucked through a drain or something, and next time we can actually see, we're here in this 'other' Candracar," Marie continued.

"Did we get pulled into another alternate dimension or something?" Nick wondered. "Because the last time _we_ saw a Sora, he was wearing the same outfit I'm wearing now. And now he's wearing the getup from our second journey."

"And that's another thing!" Meiling exclaimed. "I thought the dimensional barriers had been fixed after we beat Future Lily!"

"Maybe Meter forging the χ-blade might have left a few additional cracks in those barriers?" Haruka theorized.

"Um, not that I want to interrupt this fascinating conversation," Cornelia cut in. "But could you four maybe explain how you got here?"

Nick kept his emotions in check, knowing that this wasn't the Cornelia that he knew. "Well, there's a lot we _don't_ know about how we got here, but we might as well explain our whole shtick."

"Maybe we should get back to Heatherfield while we do that?" Other Nick proclaimed. "It's still kinda... well, _weird_."

So with that said, Nick and his friends told this version of W.I.T.C.H. about their adventures and the foes they'd fought while they made their way back to Heatherfield in order to free it of the darkness that was gripping it.

"Man, it sounds like you guys have been through some real nonsense," Irma quipped.

"You don't know the _half_ of it, Irma," Nick responded.

"Hey, I think I see something familiar," Other Nick proclaimed, pointing towards a particular house. "Or at least, I _think _it's familiar..."

"Wait, is that _my_ house?" Irma gasped. "Did someone run it through the wringer?"

"I think that's our cue to get moving," Taranee proclaimed as she summoned Maverick Flare, just in case.

And Taranee was right to summon her keyblade, as someone had burst through the wrecked doors of the Lair household and bum-rushed her. Taranee quickly brought up Maverick Flare to block the blow directed at her.

"You have _five seconds_," Nick growled, aiming the Kingdom Key for the two figures wearing brown cloaks and carrying sharp swords.

"You won't take anything else from us!" the female exclaimed before rushing to attack Nick, who simply spun around the attack and slashed Kingdom Key downwards, cleaving the sword in twain.

"Um, _hello_?!" Irma shouted. "_You're_ the ones who decided to just attack someone out of the blue!"

To the group's surprise, Irma's voice gave the two hooded figures pause. "W-wait, Irma, is that you?" the male asked.

Before Irma could respond, the figures pulled down their hoods to reveal the faces of Anna and Thomas Lair, Irma's mother and father.

"W-wait, mom? Dad?!" Irma gasped. "What the heck _is _all of this?!"

"Oh, sweetie, you're alive!" Anna gasped, dropping her broken weapon and running over to hug her daughter tightly.

"Um, I don't think I ever died to begin with," Irma answered.

"It was... four months ago," Thomas proclaimed. "You and your friends just... I don't know, _disappeared_, and then someone wielding a large key like yours did something at the edge of town, and ever since, Heatherfield's been a dark hellhole of corruption..."

"Sounds like Nerissa and her toadies have been busy while we've been gone," Meiling quipped. "Is there any way we can _fix_ all of this?"

"Wait, Anna said something about Nerissa using a key to do something at the edge of town," Haruka responded. "Maybe she used the Dark Keyblade to flood the keyhole with darkness, and that messed with everything else here."

"Which means, all we have to do is flood that same keyhole with light and everything will go back to normal, right?" Marie wondered.

"It's worth a shot," Nick responded. "They said it happened at the edge of town, which must mean Heatherfield's keyhole is in a different spot in this dimension. Let's get moving, everybody!"

After ensuring that Anna and Thomas would stay out of sight in case any more trouble showed up (after all, Nick and his group weren't sure if the Heartless would show up here, since this dimension's W.I.T.C.H. had never heard of the Heartless), the group made their way to the large fountain plaza at the edge of town.

And sure enough, the first thing they saw was a large, glowing keyhole forming within the pond that the fountain was pouring into.

"I'm... guessing that's what we're looking for?" Hay Lin wondered.

"Precisely," Meiling quipped. "We flood the keyhole with light and lock it up, then everything _should_ go back to normal."

Will caught something odd out of the corner of her eye and glanced that way to check it out, only to see something that horrified her.

Her own mother, Susan Vandom, was lying motionless on the ground near the fountain, a brightly glowing heart floating above her body.

"Um, does anyone see _her heart_ floating out of her body?!" Irma shouted.

"Don't worry, Will, we can put it back," Nick replied, noticing Will's distressed expression. "One of the _many_ things a keyblade can do."

Nick walked up to do just that, only to get socked in the chest by Shagon's large axe, sending him tumbling back down the street.

"Nick!" Meiling shouted.

Nick quickly picked himself up and glared at Shagon from across the street. "That... was a cheap shot," Nick growled.

"Who ever accused _me_ of playing fair?" Shagon laughed.

"You know what? Fair enough," Nick replied, summoning Starlight to his hands and charging to meet Shagon in battle.

Nick dodged through three wild axe swings before retaliating with four straight hits, two of which being new moves he'd learned recently: Radial Blaster, in which he slammed his keyblade down to create a short-range barrage of blades around him, and Quick Step, where he lunged forward extremely fast to strike with an uppercut swing.

"Yeah, try me now, _boy!_" Nick shouted, moving in to complete the attack with a new combo finisher, Last Charge, in which he performed a powerful overhead swing to unleash a large energy geyser underneath Shagon.

"Wretched little fool," Shagon warned. "I can sense that some of you are angry with me. I would advise against turning that hatred against me, as it will only make me _stronger_!"

Meiling, in response, simply laughed. "Way to broadcast your trump card, buddy!" Meiling proclaimed. "If hatred and anger only buffs you, then the best solution is to just not give you that anger! _Formchange: Magic Blasters!_"

Meiling grasped Counterpoint's handle tightly, then wrenched her hands apart, splitting Counterpoint into two identical copies before twirling them in her hands. The twin blades were surrounded by musical notes and magic sparks before metamorphosing into two trumpet-like guns decorated with treble clefs and music notes.

"Let's see how you dance!" Meiling exclaimed, gliding around the street and rapid-firing her Magic Blasters, bullets of solidified magic energy launching from the barrels and homing in on Shagon, who couldn't react in time and was forced to stay on the defense.

After a few more barrages, Meiling unleashed her combo finisher, firing off two large spheres of magic from the blasters that flew towards Shagon and exploded grandly, causing Shagon to roar in pain.

While all this was happening, Nick leaped over Meiling's shoulders and Formchanged into Second Form S, taking advantage of Shagon's stunned state to accumulate enough energy for the finisher.

"End of the line, _Shaggy_! _Ancient Light!_" Nick shouted, thrusting Starlight above him and summoning five large pillars of light around him that rapidly damaged Shagon, followed by surrounding them both with a spherical field of red light. Dozens of ethereal keyblades danced around within the sphere before exploding outwards, ravaging Shagon's body and forcing him back to the ground.

"N-No... no, this cannot be!" Shagon proclaimed as he stood up, his body riddled with cracks of darkness. "I cannot... fail... the mistress! You... you WRETCHED..."

And with that, Shagon had spoken his last, his body exploding into a mess of black feathers that quickly vanished into nothingness.

"And another arrogant blowhard wasted!" Meiling laughed.

"Wow, you guys are _amazing_," Cornelia stated. "I honestly feel really outclassed by now, and that's not an easy thing to get used to..."

"It's really only because we've had about four years of experience with this whole world-hopping thing," Haruka answered. "I'm sure you guys will reach our level with enough practice."

Nick walked up to Susan and raised the Kingdom Key towards her heart, firing a beam of light into said heart so that it floated back down and re-merged with her body.

"All right, one more question," Will asked. "How do we fix Heatherfield? Is it related to our keyblades?"

"Actually, yes," Haruka explained. "Aside from the powers we've already shown, keyblades can open or close any lock in existence, even the lock to the heart of a world."

"W-wait, wait, _worlds_ have _hearts_?!" Other Nick shouted.

"Where we come from, they do," Meiling answered. "And so does yours, if that giant glowing keyhole is any indication. We just have to pour enough light into the keyhole to undo what Evil Incorporated pulled, and then we can seal it off so nothing can ever get at it again."

"We'd probably better put our powers together, just to be sure," Nick stated, raising his keyblade to the sky, the other ten wielders quickly following suit.

Light shined around their keyblades before firing beams of energy into the sky that quickly rained back down into the keyhole. A few seconds later, a loud "CLICK" sound came from the keyhole, and light began to radiate from the keyhole across the entire city, undoing the post-apocalyptic makeover and returning Heatherfield to the state it had been before W.I.T.C.H. had left for Candracar.

"Mission accomplished," Cornelia proclaimed.

"Ugh... my head..."

Will immediately rushed over to her mother, everyone dismissing their keyblades just to be safe.

"Mom, are you okay?" Will asked.

"Will, honey, what happened?" Susan wondered. "Why am I at the edge of town? And why do I feel like I just got a massive hangover?"

While Will spun a convincing story (as Susan apparently didn't retain any memories from the dark version of Heatherfield), Nick smiled at the exchange, as despite being different dimensional versions of the W.I.T.C.H. he knew, they were undoubtedly similar to his own friends.

_**Pain**_

Nick spun around on a dime, wondering where that voice had come from. "Is... someone there?" Nick asked.

_**Pain**_

_**Agony**_

"Everything okay, fearless leader?" Meiling asked.

Despite the oddity, Nick couldn't help but smile again. "You haven't called me _that_ in a long time," Nick stated. "I just... I just heard a voice in my head."

"Did it say anything to you?" Haruka wondered.

"Just the words 'pain' and 'agony' on a constant loop," Nick quipped. "I just have an odd feeling that it's got something to do with whoever or whatever zapped us into this dimension."

"Wouldn't surprise me, honestly," Meiling sighed. "Seriously, are we_ ever_ going to get a break from wackjobs and nutballs?"

"Such is the life of a keyblade wielder, I guess," Other Nick laughed. "We've already had enough to deal with just being part of W.I.T.C.H., to be frank..."

Just then, a massive gust of wind traveled down the street and blew everyone backwards. Nick and Sora were the first to land on their feet to face their newest attacker.

It was a man wearing a very familiar black coat, with black hair styled into distinctive dreadlocks, one of them used to tie most of the others into something like a ponytail and four thinner threads dangling in front of his face. He also had bushy eyebrows and very thick sideburns parallel to his violet eyes.

"Xaldin, you're here now?!" Sora shouted.

"Oh, that's just _perfect_, now we have to deal with the Organization _again_," Nick groaned. "Why does my luck have to consistently _suck hard-boiled eggs_?!"

"...huh. That's an image," Irma quipped.

"It doesn't matter what you believe, honestly," Xaldin taunted, only to be blasted in the face with a powerful Firaga spell courtesy of Meiling.

"You know, I've already heard it before, wind boy," Meiling stated. "Let's just freakin' fight already!"

"Oh, but where's the fun in this?" Xaldin stated as he threw his hands towards the sky, this action creating six large pillars of wind and dust around him with lightning crackling through them. After snapping his arms back down, the pillars dissipated, revealing Xaldin's weapon, the six lances of Lindworm. The lances teleported into the air, then fell down so Xaldin could catch two of them in each hand and leave the last two to float behind him thanks to his wind powers.

"Don't you weirdos have any concept of 'taking a break'?!" Hay Lin shouted, summoning Wind Maker to her hands.

"Trust me, Hay Lin, where we come from, the bad guys _definitely_ don't have the forethought to just let us recover from a battle," Meiling replied as she rushed forward to lay into Xaldin, only for him to shout "Wind, guard me!" and create an Aero barrier around himself.

"You cheapskate!" Meiling growled as she ducked a strike from three lances, then rolled to the side to avoid the other three.

"I think we're going to have to find a way to get that barrier away from him if we're gonna do any meaningful damage," Will noted.

"It doesn't seem like physical attacks will do much," Taranee realized, raising Maverick Flare to cast a Fire spell, launching a cluster of fireballs straight for Xaldin that scythed through the wind shield and pushed the Whirlwind Lancer back.

Marie leapfrogged off of Meiling's shoulders and unleashed Dark Volley, firing a stream of dark energy bolts towards Xaldin to knock him back further.

"You will not best me!" Xaldin bellowed, stabbing all six of his lances forward towards Nick, who only saved himself with a quick cast of Reflect.

Knowing what he had to do, Nick leaped into the air before teleporting right above Xaldin and coming down with a powerful stab attack that actually dispelled the Aero barrier and left the Whirlwind Lancer vulnerable.

Just like the last time they'd fought Xaldin.

"I think that's our cue!" Cornelia shouted, moving in to strike at Xaldin a few times with Rockbreaker before swinging upwards to raise a stalagmite under Xaldin that knocked him into the air. Irma followed up by raising Abyssal Tide to channel her power of water, causing the water from the nearby fountain to rise up, swirl around, then fly into the air, come back down and smash Xaldin back into the ground.

"Enough of this," Xaldin proclaimed, spinning his lances around him before leaping into the air, then coming down with a stab attack that created a shockwave around him. Xaldin repeated this five more times, each jump forcing the group to stay away, until he began spinning his lances around him and performed one final downward stab that created a much larger shockwave and caused pillars of light to rain down around him. This last attack actually caught the group and scattered them all in different directions.

"That was cheap," Will growled.

"Who ever accused me of playing fair?" Xaldin responded.

"You know what? Fair enough," Nick quipped before picking himself up and switching his keyblade to Magic Grimoire. _"Formchange: Spell Shield!_"

Nick's keyblade disintegrated into a bunch of pages before spiraling around him and reforming into a large spellbook much like the Clover Kingdom's grimoires.

Xaldin raised three of his lances and stabbed them forward, but Nick just raised his grimoire and cast a Thundaga spell, unleashing a giant bolt that swept across the street and knocked Xaldin away.

"Still got it," Nick quipped, moving into the center of the crowd and casting Firaga, causing four large, blazing meteorites to spin around him and thoroughly damage Xaldin.

Xaldin recovered quickly and teleported behind Nick, but he raised his book and raised a spherical barrier around himself to protect him from the surprise attack.

Marie took advantage of the opportunity and switched her keyblade to Darkgnaw, then raised it to the sky before charging toward Xaldin, only to vanish before she reached the Whirlwind Lancer, leaving him confused.

All of a sudden, Marie reappeared, flying by as fast as lightning and slashing at Xaldin many times from multiple angles, not letting up for even a second. After a few more passes, Marie reappeared a few feet above Xaldin.

"Welcome oblivion!" Marie proclaimed rather dramatically, planting Darkgnaw into the ground and causing dark shockwaves to ripple out from the point of impact, damaging Xaldin even further. "Yeah, who's bad _now_?!"

"ENOUGH!" Xaldin bellowed, picking himself up and reactivating his barrier before lashing out with all six of his lances, performing many stabbing and spinning attacks one after another, forcing the keyblade wielders to stay away from him.

After a few seconds of this ferocious attack, Xaldin gathered his lances and formed them into a sort-of dragon construct that he began to ride, piloting it to the very edge of the town.

"Wait, what's he doing _now_?" Will wondered.

"Now, all of you shall wear the face of despair!" Xaldin proclaimed. His lance construct opened its mouth before aiming towards the Guardians and firing off what could only be described as a tornado from its mouth. The tornado blast thundered towards Other Nick faster than anyone could react.

Other Nick stood his ground...

...only for Irma to plant herself in front of him, just in time for the tornado blast to strike her instead, throwing her backwards down the street. When she landed, her body was completely still, her heart having been knocked out of her by the blast.

"Hmph," Xaldin huffed. "Utterly pointless, girl. I'm going to eliminate you all anyways, but I figure, it you're so willing to sacrifice yourself and get it over with, I'd be glad to oblige!"

Xaldin retrieved his six lances and charged towards Irma, intent on claiming her heart, but Other Nick leaped in front of Xaldin's flight path and struck out with Oathkeeper, knocking Xaldin off balance.

To everyone's surprise, as Other Nick lunged forward to attack, a second keyblade materialized in his free hand, this one seeming to represent his element of thunder, with a jagged, diamond-shaped handle-guard, a hilt shaped like a stormcloud, a long, lightning bolt-shaped blade, and teeth fashioned in the shape of the Japanese kanji for "lightning".

"_Two _keyblades?!" Xaldin gasped. "How can you wield _two_ keyblades?!"

"Hey, you'd be surprised by what you can do when it comes to someone you love," Other Nick proclaimed as he began to wail on Xaldin with multiple combo strikes, giving the Whirlwind Lancer absolutely no chance to defend himself. "You're _not_ taking Irma's heart, you robed _sicko!_"

Xaldin finally found a gap in the barrage and slashed one of his lances through the air, forcing Other Nick to jump back to avoid getting skewered...

...only for Nick to run up and slash through Xaldin's body with a Zantetsuken.

Everything was still for a few seconds until Xaldin's lances stabbed themselves into the ground around him, eventually turning into pillars of light.

Xaldin let out a loud bellow of disbelief as his body faded away in one last outward burst of wind currents.

"Pasted," Nick quipped, raising Magic Grimoire towards Irma to make her heart rejoin her body.

Other Nick quickly doubled back to check on the Guardian of Water. "Y-you okay, Irma?" Other Nick asked.

"Sore, but okay," Irma giggled. "Nothing really bruised but my pride."

"Oh, thank goodness," Other Nick laughed, hugging Irma tightly.

"Hey, does it look like those two have a thing for each other?" Meiling proclaimed.

"Oh, don't _even_," Haruka sighed, wondering why she _still_ wasn't used to Meiling's matchmaker antics even after four years.

Nick couldn't help but watch the two of them, noticing that his other self's reactions were the same as the first time Cornelia had hugged him. Oh, other him had it _bad_ for Irma.

_**Pain**_

_**Pain**_

_**PainPainPainPainPainPain**_

There it was again. Nick looked up to the sky, still curious as to whoever or whatever was addressing him.

_Is someone... speaking to me?_ Nick thought. _Who's in pain? ...how can I help you?_

When no voice answered him, Nick grew concerned. After all, knowing that someone was in pain and he couldn't do anything within reason to help...

...that really unnerved him.

_To be continued..._

* * *

_Next time on W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart re:Mind..._

Other Nick: I-I... um uh I was he was...

Irma: It's okay, Nick. You can talk to me.

Meiling: Anyone else think we should actually leave them be?

Haruka: You're actually letting them do their own thing? Who are you and what have you done with the real Meiling?

Meiling: Hey, I've gotten better at reading between the lines!

Cornelia: Wait, I think I heard Elyon trying to contact me!

Will: Is there trouble in Meridian?

Cornelia: I'm hearing something about silver monsters and sentient... _playing cards?!_

Nick: Oh, boy, the Organization's at it again. Along with that voice I keep hearing, too. Here's hoping we can make some headway on both of them, next time on _W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart re:Mind_, "Trouble on All Fronts"!

Nick, Meiling, Haruka & Marie: May your hearts be your guiding key!


End file.
